


Ride the Lightning

by mrsbaggins



Category: Back to the Future (Movies)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-08
Updated: 2020-12-11
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:48:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 19,711
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24612526
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mrsbaggins/pseuds/mrsbaggins
Summary: An accidental journey back in time tasks a young growing scientist and her friend with a seemingly impossible notion- to return to 1985. With a time machine made out of a Delorean, though, things don't go as planned and the fate of the spacetime continuum rests in the hands of the two small-town teenagers. Marty McFly/OC - rated T for cursing and adult-themes.
Relationships: Marty McFly/Original Character(s), Marty McFly/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 22
Kudos: 23





	1. Eruption

_**Eruption, Van Halen (1977)** _

**Fall 1981**

**Hill Valley Junior High, California**

The gymnasium was currently filled with long tables and children waiting patiently in front of their covered projects. It was the annual 8th-grade science fair which, as it was no surprise, did not have a big attendance. 

Doc Brown scoffed and shook his head at the many empty spaces on the tables. When he had been in junior high at this same school the tables had been filled with eager students. Now it seemed children weren’t that interested in working with their hands. The emergence of new television media had to be one of the root causes, Doc sighed to himself.

The sound of a whistle caught everyone’s attention and students did their last-minute adjustments to their hidden projects. 

Doc sat in the bleachers among spectators and parents alike, waiting with his hands on his knees. Whether he knew that others were staring at him oddly, he ignored it and watched the students with close eyes. He wasn’t just here to admire and ogle, but instead to seek a potential mind with a bright future. Lately, he had found himself requiring an extra hand around the lab and he smiled at the thought of having his own protege. Growing up the only mentors he had were the historical figures of science that he often talked to in silence.

It got quiet when the judges made their first stop on the route of tables. He grimaced at the classic homemade volcano that the boy brandished from under his sheet.  _ Hardly original _ , he thought to himself.

It went on like this, save for two experiments that caught his eye. One belonged to a short red-haired boy with a shine in his eyes that he had hope for. The boy had built his own robot, albeit it really did nothing except make noise and was able to pick up a pencil. The next student seemed shy and quiet, something Doc had never been but reminded himself that sometimes the quieter people harbored the most brilliant ideas (he then recalled reading about Einstein’s preference for solitude.) This student had managed to work hydraulics into a remote-controlled helicopter, the judge’s eyes lit up in amazement as the helicopter launched above the pan of water and hovered for a solid ten seconds before plunging back down.

Interesting ideas, indeed.

They didn’t quite have that spark of ingenuity that he was looking for, though. He needed something fresh and unique, something that one wouldn’t necessarily find at a science fair. Not only did a scientist need to have the brains, but also the spark of imagination that he found himself struggling within the lab. 

Thirty minutes passed and his chin found its way into his hand, letting his eyes roll lazily over each project with a mere shrug of his shoulders. Most of these kids were well above-average in their school-work, no doubt, but he wasn’t feeling that tingle of something fascinating with any of the projects. 

Until the judges made their way down the last row of tables did his head perk up. The beginning of the row found the judges standing in front of a tall and gangly girl with something covered on the table  _ and _ the ground. There were some confused murmurs around him as she revealed a guitar underneath the sheet on the ground, wires connecting to something underneath the sheet on the table. 

When she peeled the sheet away from the table there was an amplifier and an odd structure of magnets beside it. Next to the amplifier was a pick and a smaller magnet. Doc eyed the contraption in confusion and wondered what this girl was possibly planning. He hadn’t studied music scientifically much, especially not modern instruments like the electric guitar she was quickly tuning. He sat back in his seat with a hand curled under his chin.

She slung the guitar strap over her right shoulder, indicating that she was left-handed. Doc smiled,  _ Just like Marie Curie _ , he thought.

She cleared her throat, “Today I will be demonstrating how magnets affect the sound of an electric guitar, um-” she paused and looked behind her anxiously, “That is, how magnets impact the  _ volume _ of the guitar’s chords.”

Several people whispered that they hoped it wouldn’t be too loud, but Doc just leaned forward in interest. She began by strumming a few notes with the pick at an appropriate volume (for a science fair, that is.)

“Wh-when you strum a metal string on an electric guitar, they vibrate and p-produce the sound we hear through the amp,” she turned back to turn the volume up but spun back around, “ _ Amplifier _ , sorry.”

Doc chuckled to himself, she was trying to be as professional as possible.

“I can manually turn up the volume with the knob on the a-amplifier,” she squeezed her eyes shut and let out a harmonic strum that caused some to yelp in the audience, covering their ears. She winced and smiled weakly at her spectators and set the pick down.

“In the guitar, there are magnets that are attached to pickups. These are also electricity conducting and they, uh, p-pick up the vibrations of the strings.” she eyed her smaller magnet.

“The magnets create a field when the vibrations occur and this creates an elec-elec, uh,” she paused again to take a breath, “This creates an electric current in the strings.”

Gently she picked up the small magnet that she had chiseled away at to the perfect size. It couldn’t be too large to damage her strings but had to be small enough to fit in her fingers. She raised it slowly, “This is gonna be a lot louder than the last time,” she warned carefully.

Several in the audience jammed their hands over their ears as her hand fell and brushed over the last chords she played. The sound was shockingly louder and sounded a bit longer and wavier than the last time she had strummed. Doc jumped in his seat at the sound and his eyes went wide.

“S-sorry about that,” she stuttered while scratching her neck, “For this next part I will be activating two st-standing magnets with an electric current. I will strum the guitar with a regular pick this time, but the sound will be, uh, pr-pretty loud.”

The audience was silent as she leaned over the magnets and flipped a switch on the side of the contraption. There was already a low thrum coming from the amplifier but it suddenly filled the room when the magnets were activated.

With a shaking hand, she reached for the pick and held it above the strings. She waited until most of the viewers covered their ears again and nodded to herself.  _ Here goes nothing _ , she squeezed her eyes shut again and prayed it would work.

For a few seconds, the sound was deafening loud and everyone in the gym yelped and covered their ears. Then, to her surprise, the strings of the guitar disintegrated in quick flames and the amplifier let out a loud _ pop  _ and flew about five feet in the air before crashing down onto the plastic table. 

She pulled her hands off of the now ruined neck of the electric guitar and squealed when the amp let out another pathetic putt. Smoke steamed all around her and the judges had taken a few frightening steps back from the table. Her fingers stung and it smelled like burning plastic and she groaned when she realized the surface of the table was probably melting under the burnt-out amp.

_ Shit _ .

It was silent as they all stared, somewhat frazzled from the near fire. Doc’s ears were ringing but he was eagerly waiting for the judges to  _ say something _ . 

Her thinking had been outside of the box and it was exactly what he was searching for in a protege. This student had brought something modern and quite frankly, fun, to an otherwise boring event (not that he found science boring.)

“I’m sorry miss Yates but destruction of school property immediately disqualifies you, as well as endangering the lives of the spectators,” one judge said as he threw a look back to the stares in the bleachers, “Perhaps next year.”

The judges warily stepped around her smoking mess and proceeded to the next child (whose eyes were as wide as saucers.) Doc frowned and nearly stood in objection, but he knew people already found it odd that the quirky Doctor Emmett Brown was at the local science fair. Little did these children know, though, that this girl had just passed them all on a wonderful opportunity. 

Once the fair was over and the awards were given (first place to the boy with the hydraulic-powered helicopter, second place to another child he hadn’t bothered to listen to, and third to the boy with the robot) Doc made his way around the swarming crowd of parents and students.

The Yates girl was throwing her broken experiment into a large box with frustration. He winced when she threw the magnets on top of the amplifier with loud  _ crunches _ as they each landed in the pile.

“ _ What were you thinking, Kitty? Switching magnets at the last minute, what the hell _ -”

Doc tapped her on the shoulder and she froze. Slowly she turned on her heel and produced a sheepish smile. It turned into a frown and nervously her eyes darted from his eyes to her failed experiment. 

“That was a very good try, dear!”

“It was a failed try,” she mumbled and crossed her arms.

Doc chuckled, “And you will have many failures in your future of science, believe me.”

Her dark brow raised, “Future of science? I don’t th-think I see one, anymore,” she turned to kick the box of discarded parts.

He sympathized with the girl even though she really didn’t know it. Why would she listen to the old town crack-pot, anyways? She placed her ruined guitar safely and gingerly back into its pack and zipped it up rather quickly, slinging it over her shoulder. Before he could begin talking again she scooped up the box and nearly ran for the doors. 

He blamed his old age for not being able to keep up with her but when he finally did on the outside steps of the school, he was panting for breath and her brows were furrowed in annoyance.

“Loo-look, Mr. Brown, I don’t want any trouble and I just wanna g-go home,” she sighed.

Doc placed his hands on his knees and looked up at her, “And I don’t want any trouble either,”

“Then why are you following me?” she asked.

“I want to offer you a once in a lifetime chance, miss Yates,” he stood, “A mind like yours shouldn’t be put to waste and to be quite frank, I think your ideas could be put to successful use.”

She rolled her eyes, “Clearly my ideas d-don’t work.”

“They won’t ever work with an attitude like that,” he pointed out, “I’ll make you an offer.”

She crossed her arms and glared at him with angry green eyes, “I have to be home for dinner-”

“I need an extra hand around the lab, it seems that my brain just can’t hold onto one idea for too long and I think you would be the perfect candidate-”

“I’m sorry, did you s-say  _ the lab _ ?”

Doc smiled and shoved his hands into his slacks, “My lab, yes.”

Her eyes widened, “You have your own lab?”

“Just so happens I do, miss Yates.”

For a moment she uncrossed her arms and thought of the multitude of possibilities that a lab could help bring to life. Her parents didn’t have a big enough house or even a garage for her to tinker in, it seemed like too good of an opportunity.

Not to mention Doc Brown did not have a great reputation around Hill Valley. She had even heard the man was radioactive because he had worked on the atomic bomb. It could be possible but he would have had to be exposed to large amounts of-

“How does your own space in my lab sound? There’s plenty of room I can make and in return for your help, you can use that space to your own liking.”

She cocked her head in thought, “To do whatever I want?”

“So long as it isn’t harmful, sure.” he smiled.

Some parents and students began to funnel out of the school and she turned away, staring Doc in the eyes to avoid their stares. Today was humiliating enough, being seen talking to Doc Brown now was the least of her worries.

“What do you say, miss Yates?”

It didn’t take her long to hesitatingly offer her hand to his larger one, “You can call me Kitty,”


	2. Born to Run

**_Born to Run, Bruce Springsteen (1975)_ **

**Fall 1982**

**Hill Valley Junior High**

Students buzzed with excitement over the fall music and arts program that was scheduled for the next evening. It was one of the last chances the students would be performing for the junior high and showing off their talents before moving up to high school.

Marty McFly sat on the side of the stage tuning his electric guitar in silence. Most of the kids had finished rehearsing and he preferred being one of the last ones to do so. He could think about what music he was going to play and memorize the perfect adjustments he wanted for his performance.

A group of girls passed Marty in front of the stage, whispering with their heads together and blushing when his eye caught their stares. He grinned and sent them giggling out of the gymnasium. 

“Yo, McFly!”

He stiffened at the nasal-ish voice of Douglas Needles and the footsteps of his gang close behind him. Needles jostled him around with a hand in his hair, laughing as he sat next to him on the stair. Two cronies sat behind him and one in front of him leaning against the railing.

“I’ve got a favor to ask ya,”

“No, I don’t have any lunch money leftover-“

“Hey don’t worry! We’re growin’ up now so I’m not about the lunch money anymore,” he grinned as he slung an arm around Marty, “I’m here to ask for something a little bit nicer.”

“Oh, you can definitely take one of my breath mints, then! From one grown-up to another,” Marty quipped with a smirk.

Needles growled and lunged at Marty, balling the front of his shirt into his awkwardly large hands, “Always gotta be the smartass, think it’s cute?”

“Works on the girls, and how many do you have coming around?”

He shoved Marty against the wall, “Give me your interocitor tube,”

“I’m not gonna just give that to you! I’ll rent it to you for,” he paused to think, “Five bucks.”

Needles cocked a brow and looked around at his cronies, “This guy thinks he can rent it to me?” 

The boys roared in laughter and slapped Marty on the back playfully but with a force that he knew they weren’t going to leave until they had that tube.

“You see, McFly, mine burnt out this morning while practicing for our  _ gig _ that we got tomorrow,” he flashed a yellowed grin, “So I’d say that’s more important than the program.”

“Look, Needles, I said I’d rent it to ya-“

“How about I just take it and give it back tomorrow, yeah?”

Needles turned to pull the tube from Marty’s portable amp then, much to his frustration. He stood to leave with his cronies following him but Marty was fast and reached for his arm.

He jerked Needles back and the tube fell from Needles’ grip.

_ Shattering  _ on the floor.

Marty took a step back and placed his hands on the sides of his head in frustration. 

_ That cost me three weeks-worth of allowance! _

Needles slowly turned to him with a nasty sneer.

“You owe me a  _ new  _ tube, McFly.”

“That was  _ mine _ !”

He shook his head, “New tube by tomorrow at four o’clock at the clock tower! And if you ain’t there along with the new tube,” he paused and gestured to his pack, “You’re gonna be walkin’ home awful sore and bruised.”

Marty panicked for a moment and had no idea what he wanted to do. He really didn’t want to get beat up but he also didn’t want to spend more money on a new interocitor tube. But he  _ needed  _ one for the program the next night. Needles would stick to his word, he knew that, but he was frustrated and tired of their picking on him.

“Screw yourself, Needles, get your own tube,” Marty glared at him before pushing through the group and gathering up his guitar and amplifier.

“What, you  _ chicken  _ or somethin’?”

Marty straightened at the use of that damned word.

That one word everyone knew set him off. Many times it had been used to his disadvantage, and sometimes he got off scot-free. But those times were few and far between but he couldn’t  _ not  _ take a chance.

“I’m not,” Marty said with his feet planted solidly and his fists right at his sides.

Needles grinned, “I’ll see you tomorrow at four o’clock then, McFly.”

* * *

The frustrated fourteen-year-old sighed at the cashier, “You don’t have _ any _ tubes?”

The man shook his head, “All bought out this morning,”

“All of them? Who bought them?” he cried out.

“Old Doc Brown. Said he needed them for a weather experiment, but if you ask me that’s total bullshit,” the cashier chuckled.

Marty raked his hand through his hair, “Doc Brown, huh?”

Before the attendant could say anything else Marty jogged out of the music store and down the street. He knew he risked being seen approaching Doc Brown’s house but he _ really _ needed a tube or two. It couldn’t hurt to ask for a spare, right? Especially if he offered to pay him with any money he had in his pocket. 

The lab was really just a large garage and he wondered if the man also lived here. There wasn’t a door to knock on so he headed for the gate surrounding the property. There was a keypad with numbers and letters attached to the latch, and Marty tilted his head to get a better look. It seemed easy enough to break off, so he reached for it and typed a sequence of 1, 2, 3, and 4.

The boy yelped when an electric-shock like no other seared up his arm. He stumbled back onto the sidewalk with the breath knocked out of him, cradling his tingling hand to his chest. 

“ _You weren’t one-to-forsee that happening, were you?_ ”

Marty’s eyes widened at the robotic voice coming from . . . the keypad?

Despite the robotic tone, something else about that statement struck him as odd. He repeated it to himself a few times before standing up once more. Cautiously he took the keypad in his shaking hand and debated whether or not this idea was worth another jolting shock. He shrugged and reminded himself he  _ needed _ a new tube.

_ 1 2 4 C _

He jumped when the lock sprang open suddenly. Carefully he pulled it out from the latch and tossed it to the side. He pulled the rusty and squeaky gate open, wincing at the sound. Behind the gate was a weed-ridden, cracked sidewalk leading down the side of the garage. He took quiet steps as he looked for a door to knock on.

There was a door, but no one answered his consistent knocking.

“Doc Brown, are you there?”

He glanced at the foggy window a few feet from the door and briefly considered putting his elbow through the glass. However, getting in trouble with the law at his age wasn’t a very wise idea and the thought of his mother enforcing a strict punishment on him did not sound pleasant. Neither did a useless, jittery lecture from his father.

Marty jogged around the side of the garage and found a cement patio in the back, just as weed-ridden and cracked as the sidewalk. Against the house was a doormat and Marty found it to be in an odd place.

_ KNOW ENTRY _

Marty ran his foot over the faded wording and scratched his head. Maybe this guy liked to trip up his guests with games and clues, so he decided he wanted to play along.

Underneath the mat was a golden key that looked like it was frequently used. He picked it up and examined it before jogging back to the side door. Slowly he slid it into the knob and grinned when it turned successfully. The door squeaked as he pushed it forward, the sound of distant tinkering was all hear could hear in the garage.

There was a series of  _ clicks  _ and  _ whirs _ and Marty yelled when a heavy net fell over his body. He flailed his arms about, calling for anyone in the building to get him out. 

“Great Scott!”

Marty whipped around at the sound of a voice and squirmed when two hands yanked him over. A man with white, frizzy and strayed hair was pulling the net off of him with concern on his face. Once free, Marty stumbled back into the door with heavy pants and sweat crawling down his forehead.

“Are you alright, son?”

Marty gulped, “Yes sir-I mean, Mister Brown.”

“Call me Doc,” the old man stepped forward with a large grin and offered him his rubber-gloved hand, “Caught me in the middle of an important experiment, did you knock?”

“A few times, yeah,” Marty said as Doc shook his hand firmly.

“Are you here answering the ad I placed in the paper? I’ve been looking for another assistant!”

Marty swallowed and considered how to answer the question, because he really,  _ really needed _ a tube. He nodded his head and managed to smile, “Uh, yes, of course! I’ve been looking to further my, uh, scientific education.”

Doc seemed shocked as he opened his mouth, closed it, and nodded, “Well then, let me show you around! Nice to meet you, uh-?”

“Marty, McFly, sir,” he said as he peeled away from the wall cautiously.

Doc smiled and turned abrupt, motioning for Marty to follow him. The teenager marveled at the contraptions and noises around him, this garage seemed a lot smaller when he stood outside of it. The place was filled with tubes of liquid, electronic sparks, and groans of machinery. Doc was explaining some things to him, albeit very quickly and quietly, and apologized when his mutt Einstein pounced on Marty’s legs and tail wagging. Marty sighed in relief that it wasn’t some crazy robot, or something else. He scratched behind the dog’s ears and earned his following through the rest of the tour. Towards the end was when he noticed the scientist acting rather odd and jumpy. He stopped in his tracks and spun around to face Marty.

“I gotta be honest with ya, kid, there was no ad in the paper.”

Marty looked down, “And I’m not looking to further, well, whatever I said.”

Doc smiled and shoved his hands into his coat pockets, “So, what are you here for then? Trying to play a prank on me, trying to steal an invention? Blueprints?”   
“Actually, I was hoping if you had any spare interocitor tubes. . .”

Doc furrowed his brow, “Interocitor tubes? What makes you think I have those?”

Marty’s cheeks flushed in embarrassment, “The cashier at the music store told me you bought them all . . . can I pay you for two? I’ll even take one!”

The older man sighed and shook his head, “Nope, no, sorry. I need all of them for my latest project, which is why I didn’t hear you knocking.”

Doc turned and headed in another direction and Marty jogged after him, “I really don’t want to be any trouble, but I  _ need _ a tube or else, uh,”

“Listen, I’m sure you can find another one somewhere else but I can’t give you any new ones,” Doc placed a pair of goggles over his head before pulling a sheet from a table. Marty stared at the odd machine and knew that even if it was explained to him, he probably wouldn’t understand what it was for.

Marty could see the boxes of brand new tubes in a pile on the table and he nearly cried at the sight of them. If he could just snag one without the guy looking he’d save money and go home with no bruises tomorrow. Doc turned from the table to search for more tools and Marty nearly took his chance.

Einstein came to sit in front of him as he moved towards the pile and he couldn’t help but feel guilty with the pup’s eyes focused on him. He leaned back and sighed, stooping down to give the dog more scratches. Einstein licked his face and he found himself chuckling quietly.

“There’s a garbage pile over here, why don’t you take a look and see if you can find yourself an old tube,” Doc said quietly, eyes glued to his project.

Marty nodded his thanks and grabbed a box on his way to the trash piled. At the bottom of the bin, there were indeed a few tubes scattered around. He sighed and gathered the tubes that looked somewhat salvageable. He headed back towards the door quietly and somewhat guilty. He knew he had no right to barge in and ask for those, especially since the man bought them all with his own money and intended to use them. Also, the rumors about Doc Brown were far from true he noticed. 

On his way out he did notice a cup of guitar picks on a desk that stood out amongst the chaos of the lab. The surface was clear of any tools or parts and the shelves above it were neatly organized. The books were in alphabetical order and the tools beneath the shelf went from smallest to largest. Next to the cup of picks was a cup of pencils and  _ another  _ cup of pens. This workstation seemed separate from the other areas and found it odd that Doc would keep one area like this. He also wondered why there was a cup of guitar picks in a lab.

“Thank you, Doc Brown,” Marty said as he opened the door, wary of the net on the floor next to him.

Doc Brown peered around his machine and lifted his goggles with a grin, “Say, if you do want to expand your scientific education my door is always open.”

The boy smiled nervously, “I’ll think about it,”

The scientist waved at him before going back to his work and Marty said a quick goodbye to Einstein. Once the door shut he leaned against it and let the back of his head rest against the wood. That was an encounter he would never forget and he decided to not tell anyone.

Marty felt himself falling back when the door opened quickly, landing on the ground and causing the tubes to tumble onto his chest. Above him stood a startled girl in black hair, cringing at the sight of him at her feet. 

“S-sorry, but I guess you shouldn’t have been leaning against the door,” she smirked.

Marty groaned, “Who are you?”

She took a step back and Marty waited for her to offer a helping hand to stand up. When he saw she was not going to do that he grumbled and collected the fallen tubes and stood up. She was at least two inches taller than him with a pair of large, tortoise-colored glasses. Her thick, black hair was pulled into a ponytail and the remainder of her hair dangled in large curls over her shoulder.

“I ju-just wanted to give you these,” she said quietly. Marty realized she held two orange-colored boxes of unopened interocitor tubes and his eyes bulged. 

“Oh, did you take these from him?”

She shook her head and leaned against the doorframe, “I chipped in some of my money for about f-four of my own.”

Marty shook his head with a raised brow, “So . . . you’re gonna give me two?”

“Leaves me with two which is honestly enough for me.”

He cocked a smaller smile and quickly scrambled for his pants pockets, “I’ve got five bucks,”

She said nothing as he handed over the bills and she hesitantly took it from him. He noticed she pocketed the money quickly and wiped her hands on her stonewashed jeans. She nodded her head and handed him the two boxes, “Be careful with those.” 

He took them gingerly and left the box of used tubes to sit at his feet, “Thanks a lot, uh-?”

“Katherine Yates, b-but if I ever see you again you can, uh, call me K-Kitty,” she flashed a pretty but smile but ducked her head down and crossed her arms.

He stuck his hand out to her, “Marty McFly,” he said.

It sounded like she had taken a quick gulp and she shook her head, “S-Sorry, I don’t shake hands with most people. It’s a germ th-thing, I guess.”

The boy withdrew his hand and stuffed it into his pocket, “Oh, sorry.”

It was silent as each of them looked at the other’s shoes and shifted weight on their legs awkwardly. She cleared her throat and contained a chuckle at how fast his head jerked up.  _ He seems kinda squirrely, _ she thought to herself. 

“Well, maybe I’ll see you around?” he asked as he took some steps back.

Kitty smiled lightly, “Maybe.”


	3. Working For The Weekend

**_Working For The Weekend, Loverboy (1981)_ **

**Fall 1982**

**Hilly Valley, California**

Marty met Needles under the broken Clock Tower at 4 o’clock sharp the next day with only one boxed tube in his hand. There was no way he was gonna tell him that he had been given one for himself, too. 

When Needles and his gang approached he smiled confidently and stuck the box out for him. Needles eyed him, his beady eyes narrowing on Marty before taking it abruptly and inspecting it.

“So, you went out and bought a new tube, just for me?” he sneered.

Marty shook his head, “Got one for free from Doc Emmett Brown.”

Needles and his gang let out sudden gasps and jumped back from Marty. Needles nearly threw the tube through Marty’s head but he managed to catch it before another perfectly good tube broke.

“You can keep that, that old dude’s radioactive, McFly! Why would you get one from him?” Needles shrieked, holding his hand close.

Marty cocked a brow, “Wait, you’re tellin’ me you guys think Doc Brown is . . .”

“You know he worked on  _ the bomb _ , McDufus, right?” Needles took another step back and his cronies mirrored the movement.

Marty held the box and examined it before shrugging, “Guess you’ll have to leave me alone now, right? I’ll probably infect you guys with some of it,” he took a step towards the group and smiled when they all took about three scurried steps back.

Needles huffed and balled his fists, “It’ll probably make you dumber, if that was possible,” he spat.

Marty shrugged once again and turned to leave, ignoring their taunts and teasing about his brain melting and Doc Brown murdering him if he survived. 

That night the music and art show went well and he wasn’t worried about Needles so much for the moment. At the end of the show, a few girls approached him with giggles and asked him if he wanted to join them for milkshakes, to which he eagerly accepted. While sipping a chocolate milkshake at the end of a table he couldn’t help but let his mind wander to the odd scientist and the germ-freak girl that supposedly worked in the lab, too. What an odd pair they made, but he remembered Doc’s extended invitation to let him come back around sometime. 

What was so special about him that would cause Doc Brown to do that?

* * *

The following Monday, Marty found himself hustling out of the school and taking a different route home. Well, he wasn’t going home quite yet. He grimaced when he saw the Burger King his brother worked at just down the street from Doc Brown’s garage. If his brother ever saw him and told their mother where he spent his afternoons . . . there would be hell to pay from her.

But he could always continue sneaking around, that he was beginning to figure out he was good at.

He stood in front of the locked gate and confidently typed in the numbers of the keypad. There was no shock and he happily pulled the lock from the rusty latch. He closed it and locked it behind him and proceeded to the door, knocking on it  _ loudly _ .

It took him about two minutes of knocking but eventually, the scrambled scientist answered the door with a surprised smile.

“What can I do for you, Marty?”

The boy bounced on the balls of his feet with a toothy smile, “Mind if I stick around for the afternoon?”

Doc Brown quirked a brow at him, “Whatever for?”

Marty shrugged, “I know you didn’t put an ad in the paper for an assistant, but what about having an observer?”

Doc chuckled and crossed his arms in thought, “Do you know anything about carbon wires?”

“No.”

“How about electric currents?”

“Nope.”

“Do you know how a lightbulb works?”

Marty snapped his finger, “That I do know, but what does that have to do with anything?”

Doc smiled, “Well I may require  _ some  _ assistance from time-to-time and it would benefit both of us if you knew the basics of wiring and such. Kitty has been working with her own projects recently . . . and I don’t want to stop a young mind from learning!”

He nodded and peered around his shoulder to see if he could spot the girl, but all he could hear was distant tinkering. When he looked back up Doc was waiting for a response with quizzical eyes and a narrowed brow.

“So long as I don’t get blown up, I’ll help with whatever I can.”

Doc smiled and patted his shoulder heavily, “That’s the spirit! I like your attitude, Marty, we may make a scientist of you yet!” he pulled him inside.

Marty looked around and nodded, “Yeah, not so sure about that.”

“If you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything, my young friend.” Doc chirped as he patted his back one more time, “Now, can you identify tools by their names?”

Marty thought for a minute before saying, “My dad doesn’t really do any of that, so he never taught me.”

“Best we have Kitty teach you that, she’s got a magnificent organization of the tools in the back. Say, how long do you plan and stickin’ around today, Marty?”

“Ma won’t want me late for dinner, but I can always come back after,” Marty said.

Doc nodded his approval and gestured for him to follow him to a table loaded with parts and scrap metal. There was work to be done and Marty took a seat on a lounge chair, pulling out his homework and waiting to be called on for assistance.

* * *

Kitty had her nose buried over her hand-drawn blueprints, examining each line and label. She was on her triple check of the work and had only changed one error. She wouldn’t be confident enough to start until this ritual of triple-checking her work was complete. Ever since the Science Fair of ‘81, she’d made a habit of obsessively studying her work before beginning to even work on it. 

She smiled to herself once ten more minutes of completing the check passed. Leaning back she examined her complete blueprints and took them from her clean desk to a larger lab table behind her. Einstein was hot on her tail and sat by her side patiently as if waiting for her to explain the invention to him. She hung the plans on the wall opposite of her and stood with her hands on her hips.

“Doc, I’ve got something to show you!” she cried over her shoulder. 

There was some scuffling and the man shuffled through the doorway with a smile. He could always tell by the tone of her voice when she was excited, usually over a newly-discovered improvement or an idea. Kitty gasped when Einstein let out a bark and charged towards Marty McFly standing in the doorway as well. The boy laughed and greeted the dog, who was turning in circles as Marty pet him.

“This amplifier looks brilliant, Kitty!” Doc exclaimed as he approached her hanging prints.

She kept her eyes on Marty and said nothing in response. Einstein returned to his post next to her legs, staring at Marty with his tongue dangling from his panting mouth. The boy smiled at her and also walked up to see her blueprints. He shoved his hands in his pockets and leaned forward to look, “What are you building an amplifier for? Didn’t strike me as the guitar-playing type.”

She swallowed, “I wa-want to make them louder, uh, I like to play the el-electric guitar,” she said sheepishly, turning back to look at the prints and avoiding Marty’s curiously big, blue eyes.

_ That’s bitchin’ _ , he thought to himself.

“Seems to me you two have already met!” Doc exclaimed with hands gesturing to them, “It’ll be good for Kitty to have some company that can relate to her teenage problems-”

“I do n-not have problems, Doc.” she rolled her eyes.

He smirked, “Well, now you won’t just have an old man to talk to. She dedicates all of her time to the lab and it would do her some good to have a friend.”

“You make me s-sound weird,” she laughed at him.

Doc gripped both of their shoulders and squeezed, “Kitty, why don’t you show Marty the tools and what we use them for. If he’s going to be helping he’ll need to be taught!” he walked away before turning in the doorway, “Get to know each other while you’re at it, too!”

When he disappeared the two teenagers turned to face each other quietly. Marty let his eyes roam over her face and decided he didn’t recognize her from school. He actually didn’t think he had ever seen her at all. She stared back, puzzled by his very curious eyes and what his intentions were in coming back.

If he was here to spy and spread rumors about Doc she was going to have none of that. She already heard enough of that bullshit in the halls about him and this was just the type of thing some delinquent idiot would do. He seemed to sense her subtle hostility and he looked away.

“So, the tools?” he asked, throwing his head back in their direction. 

She nodded and motioned for him to follow her, not before stopping at her desk to retrieve and hand wipe and vigorously scrub at her hands. Einstein was up in an instant and walking right beside her as if he were her shadow. They came to a stop in front of the tools and she stood in front of him with her hands on her hips. She pushed her glasses back up her nose and gestured to the wall, “I-Is there anything on here you can identify?”

Marty glanced at the wall and scanned the tools arranged by size, pointing out the ones he did know (which was a total of three.) She nodded and stared at him for a minute before asking, “Wh-why are you here?”

Marty shrugged, “A kid I know is scared of Doc Brown, thinks he’s full of radiation.”

“So you wa-wanna find out if that’s t-true? And maybe tell e-everyone else?” she stuttered, keeping a firm eye on Marty nonetheless.

He shook his head, “No, anyone that can scare Needles is cool in my book.”

She cocked her head, “Who the hell is  _ Needles _ ?”

“Doug Needles, he’s in my grade. Do you know him?”

She shook her head, “Don’t recall any D-Doug Needles from school. Is h-he a sophomore?”

Marty cocked a brow with wide eyes again, “You’re in high school?”

She nodded, “Freshman c-class . . . you must be from the junior high.”

“Yeah I am, eighth grade,” he cringed and wondered if she just looked at him like an annoying little kid, “That makes sense now,” he said sheepishly, looking back down at his feet. No wonder she looked a little different from the girls at school. It also explained why she was taller than him. Most girls his age were starting to pass him in height and he found it a bit irritating. He just hadn’t hit that jumpstart of hormones yet.

“So, Doc took care of your bully, this Needles dude,” she said quietly and clearly this time, sinking back on her feet.

Marty nodded, “He kinda did,”

Kitty nodded and seemed to understand the appreciation in Marty’s voice. She had experienced her own bullies when she was younger. She was glad Doc was able to bring him some peace but she still worried about what Marty would say at school. Just as she had learned on her own if you hung out with Doc enough people in Hill Valley noticed. She didn’t miss the judging glares people shot her on the street or in the tool store. Kids in school whispered around her in the hallways but didn’t really bother with her anymore. She figured that was the fear people had of Doc but as long as he wasn’t harmed and people didn’t try to confront her about it she was content with ignoring it.

“I came back because I wanna help around, this place is more fun than my house after school anyways,” Marty said, “And it turns out most people have the wrong impression of him.” 

Kitty smiled at Marty, “I’m glad you think so.”


	4. Jump

**_Jump, Van Halen (1983)_ **

**Fall 1983**

**Hill Valley High School**

Marty gawked at the high school halls buzzing with kids that were bigger and taller than him, still. He wasn’t intimidated and in fact, he was pretty excited to be in high school finally. A group of what looked to be senior girls passed him in the hallway, giggling to themselves, and his eyes nearly popped out of his head as he watched them pass by.

Maybe high school wouldn’t be so bad after all.

He looked down at his schedule and locker assignment before making his way down the hallways he had just recently memorized. Kids bumped and shoved against him, including Needles who made quite the show about almost knocking him over. Marty just rolled his eyes at him and ignored his jeers. 

Marty had grown a good three inches over the summer and hadn’t really seen much of Kitty or Doc over the break. He had hoped he finally topped her in height when he next saw her. His family had gone on one vacation (to the woods for a week in a town not even thirty minutes away, which ended up in all the McFly siblings contracting poison ivy rashes and his dad complaining about missing the Twilight Zone marathon.) He’d had a job mowing lawns, too, and saved up money to expand his musical interest. Kitty had allowed him to borrow her prototype amplifier and he played on it all summer, especially enjoying the few times he brought it to the lab and cranked it up to its full volume.

Neither Kitty or Doc seemed to mind his random strumming and loud preference, except for the times he would catch her glaring at him with her hands on her hips. With that look, he would turn down the volume and apologize, but this was on rare occasions when she was close to a breakthrough or starting blueprints.

He found himself excited at the thought of visiting the lab after school days again, it kept his mind from going crazy at home and the scientist and his protege had grown on him. Doc was always teaching him something new (while Kitty usually dumbed it down for him later) and didn’t mind Marty’s never-ending questions. In fact, he seemed to encourage them when he would answer Marty’s questions with a question. Sometimes, it annoyed him, but he always found himself with new knowledge the more days he spent there. Oftentimes Doc would call him and Kitty into the room when he completed his work. Together they would sit on the opposite table and let their feet dangle and swing while Doc excitedly jabbered on about the designs.

Kitty and Marty were usually silent in each other’s presence and over time he had learned that she rarely talked when she was focused. Really, she didn’t talk much at all. 

She wouldn’t even answer Marty’s questions most of the time, straight-out ignoring him. He didn’t mind so much, she usually explained everything to him when she was finished doing whatever she was. The longer he spent at the lab, he noticed, she began to stutter less and began to make more eye contact. It was obvious to him that he had earned at least  _ some  _ of her trust.

He was still unsure about how Kitty really felt about him, though. 

For Marty being social and chatty came easy to him. He was always patient with her nervous stuttering, not that she could help it. Interacting with new people and situations always made her uneasy and the stutter just came with the nerves. After a few months of his after-school visits, she had grown relatively used to the excited teenage boy and his curiosity. Kitty found it particularly annoying how chipper he was and how utterly  _ social  _ he was. She always laughed to herself when she thought of the first word she’d used to describe Marty,  _ squirrely _ . Sometimes he forgot that she hated touching new items and jumped if his hand brushed her arm, he always apologized, though.

His eyes were always wide when things were being explained to him and when he was confused, he would squint with his hands on his hips. He moved so fast around the lab and always kept up with the work, despite being a little clumsy in the cluttered garage.

But he did amuse her and she didn’t dislike Marty being around once his visits became regular.

Marty drew himself from his thoughts when he approached his locker and spun the lock with his combination. His usual locker-buddies stood in front of their own, chatting with friends and regaling them with what sounded like fun summer memories. Marty sighed when he remembered how boring his summer was and vowed to make his high school summers and career memorable.

“-yeah I think that’s Katherine Yates . . .”

Marty’s ears caught onto a snippet of conversation next to him. He pretended to busy himself with flipping through a textbook and listened closely.

“My older sister told me she helps Doc Brown dig up dead bodies for experiments,”

“I heard that too . . . Don’t look at her when we’re talking about her, idiot!”

Marty turned around and glanced towards the hallway. Kitty was walking down the hall with a Walkman in her hand, clearly ignoring everyone in the hallway. She walked with her eyes straight ahead and two science textbooks tucked into her elbow. Marty debated on running up to her but stopped when he realized lots of students were staring at her.

He could feel when her eyes landed on him, so he flickered his gaze to her.

She remained expressionless as she passed him. Clearly, she wasn’t going to stop and say hello so he just nodded to her and wheeled back around to face his locker. He sighed and shoved another book into it and contemplated if he should have said something to her. 

Kitty continued down the hall with her music playing over the talking of the students around her. She wondered the entire summer about what she would do when she encountered Marty at school. He wasn’t exactly in the crowd she belonged in, whatever it was, and she wasn’t surprised when he didn’t wave to her or smile in her direction. 

It was his first day of high school and she figured he didn’t want to associate with her.

The feeling was somewhat mutual and she wasn’t mad at him, really. She had been around him long enough now to know that he had no ill-intentions towards her or Doc. At first, she was wary about him being around so much. The jumpy younger boy wasn’t half bad in the end and if they kept their school lives separate from everything else it was okay.

She did find herself looking forward to catching up with him soon, though.

* * *

The bell rang and signaled the end of the first day of school. Kids jumped from their desks and rushed out of the classrooms. Kitty stayed behind and introduced herself to her science teacher and was surprised to learn that he already knew her name.

“We could use some more brains like you around this school,” he said with a smile, “And I look forward to seeing what you bring to this class. Don’t be afraid to bring around any extra projects or ideas to me,”

Kitty smiled in surprise and hugged her notebook to her chest, “Th-thank you, Mr. Kuhn! I’m not sure my extracurricular projects r-really relate much to this class but-”

“Nonsense! Science is much more than just chemicals and colors and clearly you have advanced education in the subject. Have you ever considered looking into advanced classes? Perhaps a local college course to further your knowledge?”

Kitty shook her head, “I’m n-not even sure how to go about that, plus college courses w-wouldn’t work very well with a high school schedule.”

Mr. Kuhn narrowed his eyes, “Hill Valley would accommodate that for you, especially with a recommendation from myself.”

Her eyes widened in shock, “You’d do that?”

“Of course! This school would be ridiculous for keeping you from expanding your learning,” he shut his briefcase and motioned her towards the door, “Come see me when you’re ready to consider those options.”

Kitty left his room with a stupidly large grin and nearly skipped down the hall in excitement. No doubt Doc would support this suggestion and she couldn’t wait to tell him and get his advice. The halls were mostly empty now, save for a few athletes and club members milling around. For some reason, she was keeping her eyes peeled for Marty. 

She hadn’t given a second thought to their unspoken interaction this morning and she wondered if he was going to start making his regular visits again. It was nice to have his company, she begrudgingly admitted to herself that Doc had been right about that. No one else her age took much interest in her and she usually ignored the gossip surrounding herself and Doc. Marty made her feel somewhat more normal and perhaps made it easier to tolerate the idiot kids she encountered at school.

She slipped her headset over her ears and droned out her surroundings as she began her walk to the garage. The walk was always peaceful and she was thankful people kept away from the garage, for the most part. When she rounded the corner she could distantly see someone riding a skateboard down the street. It must have been Marty because they came to a stop at the garage and approached the locked gate.

A smile crossed her face and she picked up her step, it had been a good two months since she had really last seen him. His skateboard was propped against the door when she unlocked the gate and brandished her set of keys. The garage faintly smelled of new metal and dog food when she opened the door, relaxing when she entered the place she had come to call her safe haven. 

Marty was in the doorway before she made it to her desk and she ogled at his newly acquired height and longer hair. He smiled at her and waved, crossing the floor to meet her at her station. He grinned and leaned against the desktop, “How was your summer?” his deeper voice shocked her.

“It didn’t contain any growth spurts, unlike you,” she said as she looked him over, “I think you’re an inch taller than me now,”

Marty straightened up with a cocky smile, “Had to buy new clothes and everything!”

She smiled and shook her head at him, pulling pieces of her next unfinished project from under the desk, “Thought I was gonna have to make you special shoes to make you  _ look _ taller,”

He crossed his arms, “Hey, I’m just a late bloomer.”

“Actually, you’re not really behind at all. Most boys start to change at this age and you’re not early or late. Although I was  _ way  _ farther ahead than you,” she laughed and continued in her facts, “But that’s normal for girls, I hear your voice has gotten deeper too-uh,”

Marty quirked a brow, “You sure notice a lot.”

She turned to hide her blush and cringed, “Just making a scientific observation.”

He scoffed, “Sure, Kitty.”

She glared at him and he held his hands up in defense with a laugh. She had missed their conversations and playful banter, she determined. Marty pulled up his usual stool and sat down next to her desk, looking over the parts she had laid out. He had learned not to ask about her projects until they were completely finished because unlike her physical organization skills, her brain seemed to be a jumble of blueprints and ideas that she couldn’t quite explain when the parts weren’t put together. With his limited, but growing, knowledge on Doc and Kitty’s experiments he could identify a few pieces and suspected she was working on another amplifier. One of her goals was to build a fully functional and  _ safe _ amplifier louder than any in existence. 

“First impression of high school?” she asked as she began cleaning off a large pair of goggles, and her hands.

Marty pursed his lips in thought, “So far better than junior high, and there are so many more  _ girls _ -”

“I asked about school, not the student population,” she asked, finishing her sentence with a small smile that he knew meant she was poking fun at him.

“Well, the education part I don’t really care much for.”

“Oh, what a surprise!” she exclaimed.

He rolled his eyes, “We can’t all be a prodigy like you,  _ Katherine _ .”

She pointed to him, “I am  _ not  _ a prodigy and if I ever hear you refer to me like that again I’ll punch you in the throat. Besides, you don’t have to be a prodigy to enjoy school, plenty of kids like it.”

“And that is why I’m sure you’re an alien,” he smirked.

“Okay, time to be quiet now,” she said as she brought a small welding torch close to her metal.

Marty nodded, “Okay, I won’t speak until you’re done quadruple-checking your work.”

Kitty snickered, “You know I only triple-check, dumbass.”


	5. Should I Stay or Should I Go

**_Should I Stay or Should I Go, The Clash (1982)_ **

**March 1984**

Kitty buried herself into her schoolwork and with Doc’s help began to seek out college courses for herself. She was particularly interested in electrical engineering and design, she learned. The local college did offer some evening courses that worked with her schedule to her delighted surprise. 

Her parents encouraged her to look into the courses and with one final push from Mr. Kuhn she applied. Within a week she was accepted and was even offered a scholarship. 

Marty realized Kitty was a lot smarter than he initially thought. Sometimes it made him feel incredibly stupid when he talked about his C-average grades and Kitty would offer to help him. He never accepted it, though, not wanting any pity from a scientific genius (he thought.) She always seemed to have a set path before her and he was sure she had her entire life mapped out on a blueprint sheet, somewhere.

They still didn’t acknowledge each other at school but both were content with it. Marty made his friends and even gathered enough recruits to start a band. Kitty seemed to prefer being left alone in general, anyway. Briefly, he thought about asking her to join the band because he wanted another guitar player and she was fairly good. His band would probably shoot down that idea and kick him out soon after so he forgot about the consideration entirely. 

So, while Kitty took night classes on Monday and Wednesday evenings his band would meet in someone’s garage and practice until a parent screamed at them. 

As the school year dragged on he noticed that Kitty seemed to be growing unusually tired into the second semester. Sometimes he would find her asleep at her desk in the garage, pencil in hand, and glasses pressed against her forehead. At school, he could see the dark circles under her eyes whenever they passed in the hallway. There was even one morning where he suspected she had been crying before school. 

He decided to catch up to her on the afternoon commute to Doc’s garage that day, wondering what had her so upset. She didn’t talk much about her life outside of the lab but he wanted to get it out of her. The bell rang and he sprang from his seat, pushing through the crowd of kids roughly. She was hurrying down the sidewalk by the time he burst through the doors so he hopped on his skateboard and caught up to her in no time. She flinched when he appeared at her side seemingly from nowhere.

Marty took his board and walked in step with her, noticing the stare she gave him. She looked over her shoulders, “Sure you wanna be seen walking with me?”

“What? Why would I care?” he shrugged nervously. 

She scoffed, “I don’t blame you for avoiding me in school and not speaking about Doc,”

He looked at his feet, “Well no one’s ever asked me about him, so what’s there to tell?”

“You’re avoiding a school-life of rumors and exclusion,” she said as she pushed her glasses up her nose, “I’m used to it, but I don’t know how you’d survive without all the attention.”

Marty jumped in front of her and continued his pace backward, “Come on, I’m not  _ that _ kind of kid,”

She smiled, “I know you’re not, all I’m saying is that I understand.”

He turned and matched his pace with hers again, thrilled that he had been the reason for her first smile of the day. It was so odd to see her dealing with something painful, adding to her quietness. He debated on whether or not to ask what was up but he didn’t have to because she gave him an answer.

“My pa-parents are getting a divorce.”

Marty’s head jerked to hers and he frowned at the sudden outburst and confession.

“I know you s-saw me this morning,” she quietly stuttered with her gaze focused at the sidewalk.

He didn’t know what to say to that, his parents were still together (albeit not very happy) and he had only known a handful of people with divorced parents. He couldn’t imagine being this age and having to watch that, being able to understand what was going on. Obviously, it was causing her a great deal of grief and stress.

“It’s a-about time it happened if I’m being honest. They can’t stand the sight of each other,” she said quietly, “D-divorce rates are going up too so it’s normal, I guess.”

“Doesn’t mean it doesn’t suck, I’m really sorry,” he glanced at her.

Kitty shrugged, “It’ll be good for them and the house won’t be so . . . t-tense.”

Marty thought about the divorce and wondered if Kitty would stay in Hill Valley. Maybe her parents would just up and leave California entirely, forcing Kitty to go with them. Doc would be upset for sure and he found himself feeling the tiniest bit sad of the thought too.

“So, are you staying in Hill Valley?” he asked with wide eyes.

“Mom will go back to New York, she always hated it here. That’s where they met, actually,” Kitty’s gaze drifted in front of her, “She told me she really wants me to go with her, b-but . . .”

Marty took her arm in his hand and she jumped at the contact, “But what? Are you going with her?”

Her eyes traveled from his gentle grip on her forearm back to his concerned eyes and couldn’t fight the smile pulling at her lips (and the growing twitch the longer his hand was on her._

“You’d miss me too much so I decided to stay,” she quipped with a smirk.

Marty laughed and let his hand fall back to his side, “I think it’s the other way around,”

A blush threatened to surface but she took a deep breath and rolled her eyes, “Oh yes, I would miss you so much, dear  _ Martin _ ! I couldn’t bear to be apart from you!” she sang into the air, throwing her arms out in mock-despair.

He threw his head back in laughter and she soon joined in, shoving him playfully with her shoulder on the sidewalk. He made sure to shove back with his elbow and realized that  _ yeah _ , he would probably miss her if she decided to leave Hill Valley. Since returning to school and the lab they had grown just the tiniest bit closer and it was safe to say they were friends, probably. The smile she was giving him now seemed to confirm that thought.

They entered the lab together and Doc peered out from behind the door, smiling to himself at the sight of the two talking animatedly and laughing occasionally. It had taken quite some time for Kitty to get used to Marty and to at least tolerate him and he had hoped that they would become friends. She spent nearly all of her time in the lab and with Doc, not that he minded, but he wanted Kitty to have a life outside of it. He wanted her to have friends she could talk to and confide in, someone her age. If Marty turned out to be that friend then it made him happy. He was a good, curious kid and Doc did thoroughly enjoy his company. If it had been up to him initially Kitty would have had a  _ girl _ -friend, but he couldn’t stop fate from bringing Marty through the doors of his lab last year.

It seemed his hopes for a blossoming friendship between the two were coming true.

Kitty hopped up onto her stool and Marty took his usual seat next to her desk. Einstein greeted them with a loud bark and each of them gave him scratches behind the ear. She rifled through her backpack and took out her homework while Marty reached for her guitar on the stand on the ground. There were still scorch marks along the neck and body of the instrument but she had re-stringed it herself and made the necessary repairs. He reached into her cup of picks and played a few chords while she buried her nose into a textbook. 

“Whatever happened to this anyway?” he asked suddenly, running his finger over the black stains.

She laughed, “A failed science fair experiment-please wipe that down when you’re done.”

Marty nearly jumped out of his seat, “That reminds me! I need your help,”

She sat back and set her pencil down, “I am not going to give you the answers to your study guide-”

“No, no! That would be nice, though,” she glared at him and he shook his head, “Anyways, my science teacher is  _ making _ me enter the science fair at the end of the year for extra credit.”

“Well, that’ll be fun,” 

“I have no damn clue what I wanna do,” he slumped, “Doc said a volcano is ‘hardly original’ and honestly that was gonna be my go-to.”

Kitty nodded, “He’s right, it’s practically an elementary project. It won’t impress anyone and I’m not sure it’ll give you the extra credit points you need,”

“Okay, clearly I’m no scientist so I’m asking for your help,”

She mock-gasped, “ _ You  _ are asking  _ me _ for help? That’s unheard of,”

“I know, I know . . . it’s just this once because I could really use the extra credit points and save myself a lecture from my father.” he rubbed his hand over his forehead.

She thought on it for a moment while ideas floated through her mind on an experiment for Marty. It couldn’t be anything too extravagant, because he’d get called out for cheating or something (in Marty’s own words, he was no scientist.) He seemed to be hanging onto the edge of his stool waiting for her answer with a pair of the saddest puppy-dog eyes she had ever seen.

She groaned slightly but nodded, “I’ve got an idea, but you have to help me with it. I’m gonna actually attempt to teach you  _ something _ ,” 

Marty threw his hands to the sky and his eyes crinkled in delight, “Thank you! It doesn’t have to be anything great, I’ll get the extra credit points just for attending,”

“I wouldn’t let you participate in a science fair without a decent project, that would be a disgrace,” she laughed before returning to her homework, “Give me your address and I’ll come over after class on Wednesday night.”

Marty frowned and thought about Kitty running into his parents, his mother would probably make some off-handed comment about her visit and his father would embarrass him somehow. He hated having people over and it was rare that he did. His family certainly wasn’t a mess but they were dysfunctional and  _ annoying _ . Kitty had no idea what she would be getting herself into once she met them.

“What about your house-”

She shot him a dagger-like glare and he shut his mouth, suddenly remembering the situation going on in Kitty’s own home. His family was probably wonderful by her standards and she probably looked for any excuse to get out.

Which probably explained her recent late-nights spent at the workshop.

“Sorry, yeah my house will be fine,” he snagged a loose piece of paper she was scribbling notes on and jotted down his address, “It’s the one with the white Vauxhall Astra in the driveway.”

Kitty rolled her eyes with a smile, “I would’ve given you your own piece of paper, now your address is part of my engineering notes.”

* * *

She stayed up well past midnight to work on plans for Marty’s project with Einstein snoring on the ground next to her stool. She made an entirely separate sheet of notes for Marty that he would be able to easily understand and be able to teach him with. Her mind kept pushing the boundaries of the simple ideas and she desperately wanted to make some major adjustments. Anything her mind conjured up was well past Marty’s knowledge of science.

For a while, she struggled with what to do. What would Marty present at a science fair if this had been entirely up to him? What interested him, what did he like? She knew him but not that well, she knew he loved music and playing his guitar. He wasn’t all that into athletics or any other school subject as far as she knew. He did enjoy watching her and Doc work, despite never knowing what it was until it was explained to him. Although, he had mastered the identification of tools in the workshop and never needed help with finding those anymore.

“Kitty, you should go home and get some sleep,” Doc said as he wiped his hands on a rag.

“I can’t, have to come up with a project for Marty.”

Doc frowned, “Are you doing his homework for him? That’s not ethical!”

She laughed, “No, I’m planning on teaching Marty how to build a pair of rocket-powered rollerblades. He’s gonna do it all on his own, but I’ll watch over him just to make sure he doesn’t burn down his house or the gymnasium. He might just learn something in the end,”

Doc’s face relaxed, “Oh, that’s a good idea I suppose,” he leaned over the blueprints.

“Think the teacher will suspect anything if I give him this project?” she sat back so he could get a better view of her plans and precise instructions for Marty.

Doc shook his head, “Nonsense, anything can be accomplished when you put your mind to it. That goes for Marty, as well!”

She laughed, “Yes, I know.”

“Seems you and Marty are friends now, am I wrong?” he asked with a sly smile, “From the beginning, I knew he would be good company for you to have! Although it did take a  _ year _ for you to warm up to him.”

“I don’t  _ need  _ company, Doc, I’ve got you,” she said as she leaned over her notes again, “But, yeah, he isn’t so bad.” she murmured. 

Doc straightened in pride, “You’ll thank me one day for it, Katherine. Friendships stand the test of time and are much more precious than any invention! Not that science isn’t just as important, but good friends will never fail you.”


	6. Goodbye Stranger

**_Goodbye Stranger, Supertramp (1979)_ **

**March 1984**

Kitty kept glancing down at the address Marty had given her, searching for the white sedan. Lyon Estates was a quiet neighborhood and perhaps even quieter now that it was 9:30 at night. She could barely read the address number on the darkened, small house as she approached. Just as Marty said there was a white Vauxhall in the driveway and she headed up the steps to the door. She knocked on the cracked wood and stepped back with her binder close to her chest.

The door opened slowly and Kitty could barely make out the frown of a woman’s aged face.

“Is Mar-Marty home?” Kitty asked hesitantly.

The woman opened the door completely, “Who are you?”

“K-Katherine Yates, are you Mrs. McFly?”

Her frown deepened, “Why are you here so late?”

Kitty tried to glance deeper into the house but couldn’t see any signs of Marty. Maybe he had forgotten about their meeting? She looked back to Mrs. McFly and mustered a small smile, “Marty n-needs help with his science f-fair project, so that’s what I’m h-here for.”

“Well, he isn’t here so I suggest you talk to him tomorrow at school. It’s hardly appropriate for a young girl to visit a boy so late-”

“Ma! I’m here, it’s okay!”

Kitty turned to see Marty running up the driveway with his guitar slung over his back. He looked frazzled and annoyed, shooting Kitty an apologetic look as he stood next to her.

“She’s here to help me with my science fair project, ma, that’s it.”

Mrs. McFly’s gaze withered on them, “Alright, keep your door open and I expect to hear nothing but science fair talk. Understand?”

He rolled his eyes, “Sure, ma. Would you let us inside, now?”

Mrs. McFly turned and left them in the doorway and he gestured for Kitty to go in first. “Sorry, practice ran over a little late,” he said quietly. 

She stepped in slowly and took in the somewhat shabby-looking home. Her nose wrinkled at the stale smell of cigarette smoke and a faintly lingering scent of liquor. The dining table was bare and empty and someone was in the kitchen rifling in a plastic bag. She caught a glance of what had to be Mr. McFly, struggling to get the bag open and cursing to himself quietly. 

Mrs. McFly was sipping on a dark liquid in a torn-up recliner, her eyes glued to the television. She didn’t seem like a very happy individual and she even watched her husband enter the room with a scowl, “Don’t leave crumbs all over the couch tonight, George.”

The man’s eyes were trained on the screen as he sat down, “Of course, Lorraine.”

Marty pulled her from her observations and motioned for her to follow him down the hallway. He shut the door behind them and raked a hand through his hair tiredly.

“Thought w-we were supposed to keep the door open?” she asked.

Marty scoffed, “She’s not gonna check on us, I promise.”

Kitty’s brows raised in surprise, “She seemed pretty concerned-”

“Kitty, she won’t, trust me.” 

Marty set his guitar down to lean against his obviously never-used desk and sat on the edge of his bed, “I’m really sorry for whatever she said to you,”

She shook her head, “She seems nice, I think.”

“Sure,” he paused, “She’s a little old-school, y’know? Never did anything sinful when she was our age. I’m surprised she didn’t meet dad at a convent,” he laughed to himself.

Kitty frowned, “That wouldn’t work, nuns don’t even come into contact with others that much-”

“That was a joke,” Marty said with a brow quirked.

“Of course, I got it,” she laughed weakly.

It was silent as Kitty stood in the doorway and he sat on his bed looking at his shoes. Slowly she moved to place her binder on his desk, but there was hardly any room. The sight of knick-knacks and random bits of neglected homework scattered all over the desktop nearly made her twitch. How could he ever get anything done with that mess? 

“Uh, here,” she held out the red binder to him, “Those are all the notes I’ve compiled for you.”

Marty frowned but took the binder anyway, “Gee, I get my own binder?”

She nodded, “The instructions and explanations in there should be simple enough for you to understand-”

He glanced up at her, “Ah, you’ve dumbed it down for me?”

“No! Well, uh,” she shook her head in embarrassment, “Sorry, how else should I have said that?”

He smiled at her then, “I was just yankin’ your chain, Kitty. Thanks for dumbing it down for me,”

She sighed in relief and unclenched her fists. Marty moved over from his spot on the bed and motioned for her to sit next to him. She nearly blanched, because she had never been alone with a _boy_ on his _bed_ before. It was just Marty, though, she had to remind herself.

With her hands tightly wrapped around the straps of her backpack, she sat next to him stiffly and kept a good few inches between their thighs.

He was flipping through the neatly color-coded notes in the binder, an impressed look in his eyes. She watched him flip through to the very end before he grinned and turned to look at her, “A rocket-powered skateboard?”

She nodded, “At first it was rollerblades, but then I remembered how much you go around town on your skateboard.”

He beamed, “This will be so _cool_ , Kitty!” he exclaimed with a twinkle in his blue eyes, “When do we start?”

She sighed, “Well I want to make sure you understand the basics before we even begin building it. You’ve got two weeks until it’s due, so I’m gonna make sure you understand every page of those notes before we start.”

Marty groaned, “Really? We gotta do all that-”

“Hey, this is _your_ project so you need to understand it before using it. Maybe you’ll come up with some better ideas along the way. I want you to be able to explain how it works to people before showing it off. They’ll ask you questions about it and how it works, how you built it, and stuff like that.” she reminded him sternly.

He sighed and collapsed back onto his messy bed, “This is gonna suck,”

She rolled her eyes, “For you, it might, but I’ll walk you through every step and explain it as best as I can to you. Don’t doubt yourself so much.”

He opened one eye and glared at her, “I’m shit when it comes to science, you know that.”

“Sure, if that’s what you say. Now, do you want my help or not? Sounds like you really need those extra credit points but it’s up to you.” she stood up and zipped up her jacket.

“Are you leaving?” he asked and sat up quickly.

She turned to face him, “I am, but I want you to look over that entire binder before Friday because that’s when I’m gonna start teaching you. Make a separate sheet of your own notes and questions for me and bring it to the lab. Sound good?”

Marty was surprised by her authoritative voice but it made him a little bit more confident that he could complete this project with her help, maybe. He nodded silently and glanced back down at the binder that she had neatly labeled **_Marty’s Rocket-Powered Skateboard Notes_ **.

“What if we called it a Rocketboard?” he asked with wide eyes.

She grinned at him, “See, you’re already coming up with ideas. That’s a good start and I like the name tons better,”

He grinned sheepishly at her pride and scratched the back of his neck, “Thank you, Kitty, honestly. You didn’t have to do this,”

“But I did cause we’re friends,” she shrugged, a small smile playing at the corners of her lips.

Marty raised an amused brow at her and his heart jumped at the word, _friends_ . Part of him had always wanted Kitty to like him and it seemed his charm had finally gotten through to her. She intrigued him so much and finally he was getting a chance to _know_ her.

He smiled at her, “She finally admits we’re friends! I always knew you wanted to be,”

She groaned, “Don’t make a big deal out of it, that was Doc’s plan.”

Marty stood and clapped her on the shoulder, “Sure it was. Now would you let your friend walk you to the door?”

They stepped into the hallway with smiles on their faces and quiet conversation. Mrs. McFly turned around sharply at the sound of their voices and eyed them, “You didn’t keep your door open, did you?”

“Not now, ma,” Marty sighed with his face hidden from her.

Kitty turned to face her, “It was really nice to meet you, Mrs. McFly, I hope I wasn’t a b-bother.”

The older woman looked away in guilt and shook her head, “No, no you weren’t,”

Kitty smiled, “Have a good night, then. Oh, a-and you too, Mr. McFly!”

Marty’s father peeled his eyes away from the television set for a moment to wave at her with a friendly but awkward smile. Then, he looked back to the set in silence. Kitty looked at Marty with an amused expression and he impatiently tugged on her sleeve to get her closer to the door.

“They weren’t all that bad,”

“You should hear them at the dinner table,” he said with a hand on the back of his neck, “Thanks for coming over,”

She walked down the first few steps before turning to him with a stern look, “I mean it, Marty. You better look over those notes and know them like the back of your hand by Friday,”

“I promise I will!” he threw his hands up.

It was silent for a few more minutes before she bid him goodbye with a small smile. He waited until her figure disappeared down the street before closing the door and going back inside the house. When he turned around his mother had an arm over the couch and a skeptical look in her eyes.

“Well, she seemed nice,” Lorraine said.

He nodded his head, “Yeah, she is.”

“I really hope you two were just talking about the science-”

“Ma!” he groaned, “We’re just friends, I promise.”

Lorraine smirked, “Next time she comes over it better not be a surprise on my end!”

Marty rolled his eyes and stalked back towards his room, closing the door tightly and leaning against it. His mom sure gave him headaches, sometimes, but it could have gone much worse.


	7. Rocket Man

**_Rocket Man, Elton John (1972)_ **

**March 1984**

Marty trudged up the sidewalk leading to the lab, he was honestly dreading all the learning that was about to ensue leading up to his project. He already got enough of it at school and Kitty seemed like she would take on the role of his new science teacher well. He opened the door and peered around for his black-haired friend, hoping that maybe she would be late to their teaching session so he could mess around with the amplifier.

He sighed when she called for him to come to the back and he grudgingly complied. Einstein bounded towards him with a slobbering tongue and violently wagging tail. He stooped down to pet him, “Think she’ll go easy on me?”

The dog said nothing, of course, but placed a very wet lick to his cheek instead. Marty shoved him off playfully and continued his walk to the back. Doc was hunched over something but stopped when he saw Marty and grinned, “Marty! I can’t wait to see how your science project turns out, Kitty will be the best of help.”

“I have no doubt about that,” Marty replied, “Think you can convince her to go easy on me?”

Doc frowned playfully, “I will do no such thing, besides, I think you’ll find she’s prepared for this very well and it won’t be as hard as you think. Hard work makes for good work!”

Marty nodded his head, “Wish me luck, Doc.”

“You’ll do just fine!”

Einstein was sitting patiently at Kitty’s side and his eyes went wide at the chalkboard she had in front of her. Already she had numbered off some instructions for him and labeled a few odd words on the board for him. It really did feel like a classroom, save for Doc’s curses in the background and Einstein. She turned at the sound of his footsteps and gave him an encouraging smile, “Ready?”

Marty pulled a stool up to the large table in front of him, “I guess,”

She frowned, “Don’t be so grouchy, I promise it’ll turn out fine.”

He set the red binder in front of him and she laughed when she saw he had scribbled out the project’s original name and had replaced it in his own outlandish, fun font. He opened the first page and stared at the instructions, not even sure where to begin seeing as he had  _ tons  _ of questions that he felt stupid for even wanting to ask. This, of course, was what she wanted to start with.

“Show me the page of notes you made,” she asked.

Gingerly he peeled the paper out from the binder’s inside folder and handed it to her. She took it and pursed her lips in concentration, but she didn’t laugh at any of the questions or ideas, just simply nodded her head in silence. Marty sat with his hands clasped together on the table and his leg bouncing impatiently. 

“So, most of your questions are really about specific words. Some of them are on the board, actually,” she pointed, “But I think this one is a good question to start with.”

_ How the hell do the rockets work?  _

He blushed when she read that note out loud, “Yeah, that one,”

She smiled at him, “It’s not a dumb question, I’m sure some of the equations and blueprints confused you.”

“Definitely,” he said.

So, she got to work with the basics of literal rocket science. She made it seem so easy and he tried his best to concentrate on her words. He could tell that she was trying to go slowly for him and once in a while, she stopped to ask if he was keeping up and if he understood what she had said. When he would respond with silence and wide eyes, she knew that meant he wanted her to repeat what she had just said.

Two hours into his lesson he was thoroughly exhausted and felt like his brain was absolutely crammed with information. Einstein licked his hand and nudged him for pets, to which he obliged. 

Kitty turned from the board and stopped mid-sentence to stare at him and Einstein. She laughed a little bit, “Sorry, I think we should probably stop here for tonight and pick up on Monday, you look worn.”

Marty’s heart jumped at those words and he smiled gratefully, “My brain just feels like it’s going to explode.”

“I’m sure, but I’m really impressed with your notes and questions. As for making the skateboard look  _ sick _ , that might be more your area of expertise.”

“I’m also shit at painting,” he said, “Maybe we can work on that part together.”

Kitty’s brows raised in surprise but she nodded, “Sure, if you want to.”

“Gotta make it the coolest-looking project at the fair, too, right?”

“I don’t usually pay much attention to the aesthetics of my designs, but that could be fun.”

Marty grinned, “Sounds like a plan, I’ll go to the junkyard or something to find a used one and next Friday we can unleash our inner Van Gough.”

Kitty’s sudden laugh turned into a snort and her hand flew to her mouth, eyes wide and a blush creeping up the sides of her neck. Marty’s grin grew wider and there was amusement in his eyes before he laughed at her clear embarrassment. She turned around and began erasing all of the work on the board to hide her face.

“I think we should paint Mr. Strickland’s face on it, with a beam of light coming from his bald head,” he suggested.

Kitty laughed loudly again and peered over her shoulder, “You definitely won’t get any extra credit points if we do that.”

Marty shrugged, “Just an idea,”

“Maybe we can paint Einstein on it,” she said as the dog ran towards her at the sound of his name.

Doc approached them quietly with his hands on his hips and a smile, “How did it go?” he clasped Marty on the shoulder.

“Uh, well it’s goin’,” Marty responded exasperatedly. 

Kitty shot him a look, “It’s going fine, Marty’s got a good head on his shoulders that I previously thought was hollow.”

Marty’s jaw dropped at her insult and he crossed his arms. He couldn’t keep up the facade when she turned back to him with the most playful grin he had ever seen across her lips. The rumble of his laugh broke through eventually and she chuckled with him. 

“In other words, Marty is gonna build a really great rocket-powered skateboard,”

Marty pointed to her, “A really great  _ rocketboard _ ,” he reminded her.

Doc nodded his head, “That’s wonderful to hear, you two! Now, it’s pretty late but I don’t plan on closing up shop anytime soon, seeing as I have a very important project I’m working on right now.”

“What is it?” Kitty asked with a tilted head.

Doc shook his head with a smile, “Top secret until it’s completed, I’m afraid!”

“How often are your projects top-secret, Doc?” Marty asked.

“Rarely, but  _ this _ . . . this will be something spectacular when it’s finished,” his eyes seemed to glaze over as he stared off, “It could change the future.”

Kitty and Marty shared a look with each other when he stayed silent, staring into space with a giddy grin on his face and a crazed look in his eyes. She shrugged at him, there was no point in questioning the older man. He seemed to snap back to reality and when he did his hands fell to his stomach, “It seems I’m hungry, which isn’t very healthy considering the late hour,”

“The pizza place is open till three in the morning,” Marty suggested with raised brows.

Doc grinned down at him, “Perfect, it’s on me!”

An hour later the trio was slowly finishing off the two large pizzas they had ordered while Einstein slept on the floor next to Doc’s chair. Kitty and he were in a deep and heated discussion about the properties of some element, Marty had lost track of what they were talking about quite a bit ago. Kitty noticed he was staring off and probably bored so she turned to him and smiled, “So how are you feeling about high school, now that you’ve been there for a while?”

Marty rolled his eyes, “Overrated.”

Doc and Kitty looked at each other and laughed before the older man turned back to him, “Well, what’s your favorite subject?”

“Lunch.”

“Oh come on, there’s gotta be something that interests you. Art? English-”

“History, uh, a little I guess. Kinda cool to see how people used to live,” Marty said suddenly.

Kitty smiled, “I had no idea you liked it, Marty. What else don’t we know about you?” she sat back and smirked.

“What makes your brain tick, Marty?” Doc leaned forward with wide eyes and a crazy grin.

Marty sat back and felt slightly intimidated with the older man looking at him so intensely. He didn’t think anything about his life was even remotely interesting. He wasn’t all that smart like his two friends and they both knew he was passionate about music. What else was there to him? He had gotten the thought into his head that he would probably turn out exactly how his father had. 

“I wanna be a rockstar, y’know?”

Doc smiled, “If you put your mind to it anything can be accomplished,”

Marty quirked a brow, “Why do you say that all the time? Not that it’s a bad thing to say but-”

“My mother ingrained that mantra into my being, from the time I was small until her dying days. I believe my father inspired it, to be honest,” Doc said, “My father left Germany with nothing but a little rucksack of trinkets and the smallest amount of money. He didn’t speak a lick of English, either. Despite my mother coming from a wealthy family, he was still motivated to make his own way, pursuing a career in law.”

Marty and Kitty listened to Doc ramble on about his family’s history intently. Kitty had heard most of these stories at some point but to hear him tell it all was intriguing. She felt pride swelling in her chest as he continued, her mentor was the best she could ask for and he had become an important figure in her life. At the end of the day, she certainly considered him family.

Marty stole glances at both of his friends and wondered what would have happened if he had never figured out his way into the garage. They made an odd trio, no doubt, but they had become some of his closest friends yet and they made life interesting. The longer into the night they talked, Marty also wondered why he and Kitty didn’t interact at school. It seemed to be a sort of unspoken agreement between the two that they would keep their outside lives separate from their peers. 

He wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not.


	8. Take the Money and Run

**_Take the Money and Run, Steve Miller Band (1969)_ **

**_February 1984_ **

Over the next two weeks, Kitty taught Marty everything he needed to know about his rocketboard (with limitless questions and many frustrated sighs, perhaps some mild cursing and banging on the table as well.) He found some time to look for a spare skateboard and ended up finding an abandoned one down by the courthouse alley. It was in good enough condition, which made it perfect for an experiment. 

Two days before the science fair, Marty had had absolutely enough of the learning and could feel a migraine coming on if he had to sit there for another hour. He stood up abruptly and Kitty turned quietly, peering at him through her glasses with furrowed brows. Marty smiled and shoved his hands in his pockets, “Sorry, Kitty, but we are taking a break to paint the skateboard.”

She placed a hand on her hip, “Marty you have two more days and I won’t be there to help you-”

“What? You’re not going to make it to the science fair?” he shrieked.

She hugged her notes close to her, “S-sorry, Marty, I have a midterm to take at the college and it’s three hours long,”

Marty ran a hand through his hair, “Oh geez, I’m screwed.”

Kitty shook her head, “No! No, you aren’t Marty-”

“I still haven’t figured out the right exhaust velocity for the rockets and how the drag is gonna impact the skateboard! This is heavy,” he rubbed his hand on the back of his neck in frustration but stopped when he saw how wide Kitty’s eyes were. 

A smile crept across her lips and she chuckled, “Still think you’re screwed?”

Marty looked away, “Yeah, you’re not gonna be there to tell me if I did something wrong, or, whatever. . .”

She rolled her eyes and laughed, “I hate to sound repetitive of our favorite Doc, but if you put your mind to it-”

“You can accomplish anything, Kitty,” he said with a pointed stare.

“Right, and you’re doing it, Marty.”

“But what if I hit the wrong button or explain the equations wrong or-”

“Why don’t you write a script and memorize it. That way you can stick to it and limit as many possible questions they could ask,” she suggested as she set down her notes, making sure they were lined up in a neat stack, “That would be just like memorizing notes on the guitar.”

He gave her a wide-eyed stare and she knew he thought she was crazy for suggesting that. 

“Okay, fine, it’s a little different-”

“A _ little _ ?”

“ _ The point is _ you’re understanding the material. I’m confident that we could put together a script and that you could memorize it. You also have the advantage of understanding what you’ve memorized and I’m not worried that you won’t be able to answer their questions.”

Marty was silent as he leaned against the rickety lab table, arms crossed over his chest and eyes turned to the floor. She was right, he was starting to understand the material pretty well and a script might help, a lot. He pushed himself off the table and turned to her with a relaxed stance.

“Okay,”

She smiled, “Okay what?”

“Okay, we can write a script, and okay I’m understanding things a little better.”

Kitty reached under the table and set the used skateboard between them. She looked around quickly and ran around the lab to search for paint and brushes without a word. When she came back into the room she had managed to find two paint cans of blue and green. Neither were used and she also found one large brush for painting walls and a smaller, regular art brush. Sheepishly she set them on the counter and shrugged, “We can run to the store if you want, otherwise this is what we have to work with.

Marty examined the materials and smiled, “Could be a fun challenge, right?”

Kitty was never one to be artistic, regarding drawing or painting anyway, so she didn’t see the fun in this challenge. But Marty was excited and she knew they really both needed breaks from all of the information. He suddenly glanced up at her with a wicked smirk and she raised a brow at his playfulness.

“I’ve got a hell of an idea, is there any tape here?”

Kitty laughed, “Doc has too much tape, what are you thinking?”

“You know how Eddie Van Halen designed the body of his guitar?”

Kitty pursed her lips and shook her head. Marty then explained that the guitar legend had painted it one solid color, then placed lines of tape over the body and added the painted stripes in a different color. It was a design all of the kids their age knew well and Kitty agreed with Marty that it was going to be bitchin’. 

It turned out the brushes she had found were useful for the design they had chosen and they worked late into the night. Between layers of paint drying, they took turns playing records and playing Kitty’s guitar. At some point, she had dozed off on the lone sofa with her guitar barely hanging onto her shoulder and dangling over the floor. Marty was hunched over the table concentrating on making the last few lines of blue paint equally layered. 

The door jingled and he could hear Einstein pawing at it from the other side. Doc finally got the door unlocked and nearly toppled over Einstein as he entered the lab. The dog happily padded his way to Marty and nudged his hand for scratches. The boy smiled down at the happy dog and that’s when he noticed Kitty hadn’t moved an inch, despite the loud commotion Doc had caused coming in. The older man was putting bags of supplies down on one of his cluttered desks and noticed him staring at Kitty.

“I’ve been letting her stay the night for a while now, I don’t think she gets much sleep at home anymore,” Doc said.

Marty sighed, “Or she doesn’t want to sleep there,”

Doc looked at him quietly and nodded. He knew his young protege had been having a rough go of it at home recently. Her parents certainly weren’t on the best terms anymore and he thought the divorce was still surprising her. As the fighting and cold shoulders got worse between her parents it never failed to make her more upset than the last time. 

It was getting tiresome.

“Toss me that blanket from her desk chair, will you, Marty?”

The boy nodded and retrieved said blanket before throwing it to Doc. The older man gently tugged her guitar off her shoulder and laid the blanket over her. She stirred just a tiny bit before turning the other way and burying under the blanket. Marty shoved his hands into his pockets and kicked at the floor before saying goodnight to Doc and grabbing his belongings.

“You’re a good friend to her, Marty. You make it a little easier for her, I think.”

Marty only nodded in response before waving to him and  _ quietly _ opening and closing the door. The air was a little crisp, no surprise for a February night, and he pulled his jacket closer over his chest. He had left the lab on an unexpectedly melancholy note. Kitty and Marty rarely talked about their families to each other and if anything he was the only one who ever did. Usually, it was to complain about his mom or laugh at his father’s quirks. He supposed that was because his parents were still together and, while dysfunctional, loved their kids. Lorraine still kissed both of his cheeks and insisted that he say “I love you” before school in the mornings. Once in awhile his father took the kids on fishing trips to the local lakes and took them for ice cream after. 

His parents did love him, and at some point, they had loved each other. If they still did, he didn’t know, but he wasn’t expecting a separation or divorce anytime soon. They probably couldn’t handle that, he thought to himself as he trudged home and to the side of his house. Quietly he lifted his window and hoisted himself into this room, making sure to walk on the balls of his feet so the floor didn’t creak.

Thankfully, his parents had stopped checking to see if he was sneaking out as of late. He slipped his shoes off and fell back onto his bed. After staring at the ceiling with a sad feeling bubbling in his stomach for a few minutes, he turned over and closed his eyes.

* * *

The day of the fair had finally arrived and the night before Kitty had made him go home early to get a good night’s sleep. Of course, he stayed up late messing with his guitar and looking over his notes and script repeatedly. With the wagon, his friend had lent him he made sure everything was ready before he skated off towards Doc’s garage. He rarely went in the mornings but he was nervous and figured Kitty would be there.

To his relief, she was there and greeted him with a small smile, “Why are you here?”

“I can’t do it, Kitty,” he sighed, “You aren’t gonna be there and I’m sure I’ll mess up the script. Will they even believe that I did this?”

Kitty frowned, “But you  _ did _ do it-”

Marty scoffed, “You practically built it all yourself and you came up with the idea, I just went along with it and listened to what you told me.”

She sighed and leaned against the table, Einstein sitting loyally by her feet. He seemed to catch onto Marty’s anxiousness and looked back and forth between the kids in the silence. The older girl approached him and cautiously laid a firm hand on his shoulder, holding his gaze intently.

“You gotta stop putting yourself down so much, Marty. I don’t know if you remember last night but you were on top of it and I have full confidence that you won’t mess up,” she said.

Marty looked at his feet, “But-”

“No more of that, get to school and set up your table. You’re surprisingly up on time and could even get to class early,” she laughed.

“That’s all you have to say?” Marty asked with wide eyes.

“What else do you want me to say? You’re ready, even if you don’t know it.”

He sighed, “Fine, I guess I’ll see you later tonight.”

She patted his shoulder before he left, “Go get ‘em, tiger.”

Marty left the garage feeling the  _ tiniest _ bit better and he did get to school early. The gym was filled with tables and signs plastered all over the walls about the science fair. The kids already there were intimidating, to say the least. He knew some of them from passing gossip in the hallways and one girl from his math class, who was  _ super _ cute. 

They were all smarter than him and most likely  _ willingly  _ participated in the fair.

Quietly he went to his assigned table and pushed the wagon underneath it. He jumped when someone laid a hand on his shoulder, “Glad to see you turned up, Mr. McFly.”

Marty chuckled nervously, “Of course, wouldn’t miss it.”

His science teacher smirked, “I’m interested in seeing what you’ve brought today. Don’t forget it starts at three-thirty after the last bell.”

He nodded vigorously before scrambling away from the man. Before leaving the gym he caught the eyes of the girl from his math class and smiled at her. She blushed furiously and smiled back, turning away quickly to finish setting up her project. Marty turned lazily and strutted into the hallway with a smile. 

_ If I place in this fair I’m getting her number. _

He silently willed Kitty’s creation to work well for him and nearly stopped in his tracks when he saw said friend coming down the hallway. Her headphones were secure over her head and she was dead set on her path to class, as usual. When they passed she gently bumped his shoulder and when he turned to look back at her she was smiling over her shoulder at him. 

He grinned back at her and continued on his way to the lunchroom where his friends usually met him.

* * *

**Readers: thank you SO much for all the love y'all have given this story! I always look forward to the reviews cause y'all are DETAILED with them and you certainly aren't obliged to do that, so thank you. Next update might be a little bit so I can crank out a few chapters in my own time. Thank you, hope you enjoyed!**


	9. Chapter 9

**_Mr. Blue Sky, Electric Light Orchestra (1977)_ **

**March 1984**

Students and parents filed into the gym and Marty was sprinting through the halls to get there in time. His science teacher was standing by the door greeting others as they entered but cocked a brow when Marty rushed past him. His table was left as it had been that morning and he once again caught sight of the girl from his math class. She was surrounded by a few of her friends and he sighed because he wished Kitty was there.

She lifted her brown eyes and met his gaze, a small smile crossing her lips when she saw him. He stuffed his hands into his pockets and grinned at her. A blush had crept up her beck and she turned before he could see it reach her face. 

A sharp whistle blew through the air and the students scattered to their designated stations and uncovered their projects. Marty’s heart began to pound and sweat pooled at his forehead as he slowly pulled out his rocketboard from under the sheet. The judges began their rounds down the long tables so he took the time to read over his script once more. Kitty’s voice was the one in his head as he read it to himself, calming him just the smallest bit.

When the judges reached the girl from his math class he shakily set down his paper and watched her presentation. It was centered around recycling Pepsi Free cans and a display of what happened to the cans when placed in certain chemicals. Marty could tell she was smart (not as smart as Kitty, though) and he found himself attracted to the quality. 

Not to mention her red hair and light brown eyes _and_ her t-shirt with The Cars on it.

The judges congratulated her on the resourcefulness of the project and left her grinning wildly when they walked away. Marty threw her a thumbs up and pearly smile when she looked at him, she returned the hand gesture.

They were getting close to his table now and he took a few moments to breathe and calm himself. His eyes scanned the crowd and he nearly yelped when he caught sight of Doc in the bleachers. The man waved excitedly to him and also shot him two thumbs up. Marty wearily smiled at him and waved slowly, the shock still wearing off that he had shown up.

Footsteps approached from behind him and he wheeled around to face the three judges. One was a faculty member and the other two were people he didn’t recognize. Beyond them leaning against the wall was his science teacher with an unreadable expression.

“You okay, son?”

Marty jumped a little and nodded. He turned to his project and stopped again, taking a deep breath before beginning to recite his long script. He threw in the right gestures and animatedly tried to explain how his rocketboard worked. The judges seemed interested and were writing things down on their clipboards (which he tried to ignore.)

“My frie- _I_ rigged the skateboard with small, handmade rocket boosters that are wired to a button,” he hopped onto the board and cautioned the judges and people around him to stand back, “If my equations are correct, the skateboard will reach up to ten miles an hour and shouldn’t leave marks on the gym floor. So, sorry if it does. . .”

He was a little shaky on the board but reminded himself that it was just like riding one regularly, except you didn’t have to use your feet. He took a deep breath and took one heavy push off the floor to get himself going. Then, he hit the button.

_Maybe we should have tested this before._

There was a small lurch and he could hear the rockets starting up, without issue. No sooner had he given himself a push was the rocketboard picking up speed around the gym. He passed the redhead with a smirk and finally, the rockets were at full power. Now he felt comfortable enough to ride like he did every day, his feet settling on the board and his body less stiff. Students, teachers, and spectators alike let out gasps and cheers as he rounded the corner of the gym and flew past the tables. Some students even stood to cheer wildly for him.

Eventually, the rockets ran out of power and he slowly rolled back to his designated spot in front of the impressed judges. He kicked the board up and caught it in his hand, “And _that_ is my rocketboard.”

One of the judges immediately stepped forward and shook his hand, “This is brilliant, Mr. McFly! It isn’t often that we see projects with a modern appeal,”

Marty blushed furiously because he knew it wasn’t his invention at all. Maybe he should have just stuck to a volcano that he could have truly called his project. At this point, he was surprised his teacher hadn’t called him out for the project not really being his. Once the judges moved on to the next student, however, his teacher did approach him slowly. 

“That was a fine project, Mr. McFly.”

He rubbed the back of his neck, “Thanks, uh, it was fun to put together.”

The teacher nodded his head with a skeptical look but said nothing else as he left Marty’s side. The boy let out a sigh of relief and leaned back against his table. Sweat was still traveling down the back of his neck and his breathing was a little shaky. 

“Hey, that was-”

Marty flinched and nearly jumped five feet in the air at the small voice behind him. It was the redhead from his math class that had come over to congratulate him. He relaxed a little bit more and threw on a cheeky grin, “Sorry,”

“I think that ride around the gym threw you for a loop, Marty.”

“You know my name?” he asked with wide eyes.

She laughed, “We _do_ sit next to each other in class, you know?”

He nodded, “Of course I do, yeah,” he paused with a small smile, “You’re, uh-”

“Nadine,” she finished for him.

“I knew that! Yeah, Nadine, nice to meet you,” he extended a hand towards her.

She took it gingerly and her light brown eyes sparkled, “Nice to formally meet you as well,”

By the time they had finished introducing themselves to each other, the judges had finished examining the other projects and were ready to announce the winners. Nadine smiled at him one more time before making her way back to her project. 

Doc sat watching Marty in the stands with a smile on his face. He was proud of his young friend for actually going through with the presentation, part of the reason he had come was to make sure of that. He had been worried Marty would bail and that it would be a lost cause. After his presentation, though, he knew that letting Marty into his workshop had been one of his best decisions yet. The kid was bright and had so much potential, in many ways.

Everyone came to attention when one of the judges tapped on the mic. Third and second place was announced and Marty had no clue who the students were, considering he had been going over his script and talking with Nadine when the judges weren’t there. He straightened up when the judges made a slow-coming of announcing first place.

“First place is awarded to none other than Martin McFly and his rocketboard!”

The gym erupted into cheers from parents and students alike and Marty jumped at the praise. He walked onto the stage and accepted his trophy and barely listened as one of the judges began to ask if he was interested in taking his project to a national competition. Nadine was shaking her head with a smile, clapping slowly at him. Doc had both fingers to his mouth and let loose a loud and sharp whistle from the stands, clapping wildly. Marty nodded his head in thanks to everyone before leaving the stage, ignoring the judge that followed him.

Nadine approached him with her hands clasped in front of her, shyly smiling. Marty shooed the judge away, “Hey man, I just needed some extra credit points. You don’t want me making anything else, _believe me_.”

Nadine chuckled, “Not that I’m surprised, but good job.”

“You actually should be surprised, I only did this for one class and I had some help,”

“Well, you impressed everyone here, seemed like you knew what you were doing.”

He laughed quietly, “Did I impress you enough to get your phone number?”

The girl blushed furiously and hid her face before taking his hand and pulling a pen out of her pocket. He grinned while she wrote down her number on his palm, surprised that it had impressed her enough.

“Call me anytime after six, Spanish club usually runs late after school,” she said.

Marty nodded his head, “Adíos then, Nadine,” he winked, which sent her off with another blush.

“I’m very proud of you, Marty!” Doc cheered from behind as he clasped his shoulder firmly.

Marty looked around to make sure no one else was watching before smiling, “Wish Kitty could have seen me ride around the gym,”

The older man grinned, “You can tell her all about it tonight! She’ll be just as proud of you, I’m sure of it.”

Marty and Doc packed up his experiment together and headed out of the gym to Doc’s garage. Along the way, Marty couldn’t help but begin to feel guilty about winning first place at the fair. This had been Kitty’s idea, through and through, and she helped him assemble everything. He probably wouldn’t even remember the equations and how the rocketboard even worked by the end of the month. Kitty would remember every detail, though.

He considered going back to tell the judges everything but he knew that would upset Kitty and he definitely wouldn’t get the points he needed to pass his class. He had tucked his trophy away in his backpack and decided to hide it from his friend. He also decided to tell Kitty he hadn’t won anything and that the rocketboard had failed during his presentation. No matter what he would have gotten the points just for participating in the fair and Kitty would believe it.

She deserved that award and he had been the one to take it.

Briefly, he split up with Doc to drop the trophy off on his way home, his parents paying no mind to his quiet entrance. Tucked away into his closet he threw some clothes over the trophy and shut the door. He didn’t know why he was being so weird about it but part of him felt guilty that she hadn’t been the one to show off the rocketboard. 

When he arrived back at the garage Kitty was already there, she must have returned early from her big test. Marty took a deep breath and entered the building with a sheepish smile. Einstein greeted him with barks, also alerting everyone else to his presence. Kitty came into the room with a small smile and waved, “How did it go? I want to hear all about it and how awesome you were-”

“-Actually I didn’t even place,” he interrupted quickly.

In the other room, Doc stopped what he was working on, trying to clarify if he had just heard Marty say what he thought he said. 

Kitty shut her mouth and said nothing else, just staring at him in concern. Marty rubbed the back of his neck and shook his head, “It was my fault. I forgot to check on the wiring one more time the night before and the board barely got any boost out of it. Just a little bit, but nothing exciting.”

The older girl sighed, “I’m really sorry, Marty. Maybe I didn’t triple-check that set of wires before handing it off to you for a final-”

“Don’t sweat it, Kitty, really. My teacher still gave me the points _and_ I got a girl’s number,” he grinned with the tip of his tongue barely peeking from behind his teeth. To complete the cheeky expression his hands were shoved deep into his pockets.

Kitty snorted, “Only you could walk out of this satisfied in some way, what’s her name?”

“Nadine and she’s _really_ cute, Kitty. I have a feeling you two would get along, too. She’s smart and she’s in the Spanish Club-”

“Wait, you met her at the fair?”

“Yep. Glad I’m expanding my scholarly horizons.”

Kitty rolled her eyes, “Well if it goes well, and I hope it does, maybe she and I can swap educational knowledge,”

Marty laughed, “Well let me do the swapping of kisses first, then I’ll introduce you two.”

“Wow, I take precedence over her meeting the family first? McFly, I’m honored,” she smiled as she leaned against the table.

“Hey-hey, _enough_ about me and my glorious love life. How was that midterm? How long did it really take you?”

“Are you so eager to hear about my college midterm?” she asked and crossed her arms.

He looked away and shook his head, “Not really, no. But that’s still kind of an important test.”

“Yes it is,” she said quietly.

“So?”

Kitty smiled and laughed, “I finished it in an hour and a half so I sat there for _another_ hour not to seem suspicious,”

Marty giggled, “Usually how it goes for me in math, except I finish early because most of the time I don’t know what I’m doing.”

His friend frowned at him, “Marty you shouldn’t-”

“We aren’t talking about me, congrats on finishing your first college midterm, Kitty!” he exclaimed suddenly, throwing his hands into the air. For a few moments, she stared at him silently until he cracked a grin at her and she laughed in return. Then, he asked her if they wanted to order Chinese food and she was quick to approve his thought.

* * *

**Readers- thank you for sticking with my updates and for reading and commenting on my work! I really appreciate it more than you know. I have estimated that we have about 3-4 more chapters to go until movie-verse comes into play! So stick with me for a little while longer, friends. Thank you!**


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